Method for using a two-dimensional touchpad to manipulate a three-dimensional image

ABSTRACT

A method manipulates a 3D image in three dimensions using two-dimensional gestures on a touchpad. The method moves the 3D image within an x-y plane in the direction of a multiple-finger linear gesture. A number of fingers used for the multiple-finger linear gesture is programmed in an instinct library associated with the touchpad. The method detects a multiple-finger linear gesture on a mutual capacitance touchpad and rotates the 3D image in the direction of the multiple-finger linear gesture about an axis in the x-y plane perpendicular to the multiple-finger linear gesture. The method also rotates the 3D image about the x-y plane in the direction of the multiple-finger linear gesture at a speed proportional to the speed of the multiple-finger linear gesture.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a method for manipulating athree-dimensional (hereinafter “3D”) image on a two-dimensional(hereinafter “2D”) touchpad. A need exists for manipulation ofthree-dimensional images in a variety of fields including medicalimaging, artistic design, engineering design including computer aideddrafting (CAD), kinesiology, sports simulation, geological research andarcheology. The invention is not limited to any particular field ofresearch or endeavor.

Interactive input systems allow users to provide input into anapplication program using an active pointer (e.g., a pointer that emitslight, sound or other signal), a passive pointer (e.g., a finger, acylinder, or other suitable object) or other suitable input device areknown. Multi-touch interactive input systems that receive and processinput from multiple pointers using machine vision are also known. Morespecifically, a subset of multi-touch systems use capacitive touchpanels having an insulator, such as glass, and coated with a transparentconductor such as indium tin oxide (ITO) are also known. Further, it isknown that the human body is an electrical conductor. Thus, a person maytouch the surface of a multi-touch system screen to distort the screen'selectrostatic field. The distortion may be measurable as a change incapacitance. Also, different technologies may be used to determine thelocation of the touch before sending the location to a controller forprocessing.

Projected Capacitive Touch (hereinafter “PCT”) technology is a variantof capacitive touch technology. PCT touch screens may have a matrix ofrows and columns of conductive material layered upon sheets of glass.PCT touch screen fabrication techniques may include etching a singleconductive layer on sheets of glass to form a grid pattern of electrodesor by etching two separate perpendicular layers of conductive materialwith parallel lines or tracks to form a grid. Voltage applied to thisgrid creates a uniform electrostatic field that can be measured. Aconductive object, such as a finger, for example, may contact a PCTpanel to distort the local electrostatic field at that point to thuscreate a measurable change in capacitance. Further, if the fingerbridges the gap between two of the etched “tracks” on the glass, thecharge field may be further interrupted and thus detected by acontroller. Accordingly, the capacitance may be altered and measured atevery individual point on the grid allowing the system to accuratelytrack touches. Further, PCT systems may sense a passive stylus or glovedfingers as well.

Two variants of PCT technology are generally known, namely, mutualcapacitance and self-capacitance. Mutual capacitance relies onconductive objects that may hold a charge when the conductive objectsare placed in close proximity. In mutual capacitive sensors, a capacitoris provided at every intersection of each row and each column. A16-by-14 array, for example, has 224 independent capacitors. The localelectrostatic field created by a grid of independent capacitors may bealtered by applying a voltage to the grid and/or bringing a finger orconductive stylus close to the surface of the sensor to reduce mutualcapacitance. The capacitance change at every individual point on thegrid is measured to accurately determine the touch location by measuringthe voltage in the other axis. Mutual capacitance allows a multi-touchoperation where multiple fingers, palms or styli are tracked at the sametime. In comparison, currently available methods do not use mutualcapacitance technology.

Self-capacitance, i.e. the amount of electrical charge that is added toan isolated conductor to raise its electrical potential by one unit, maybe used in PCT technology. Self-capacitance sensors may be designed toemploy the same X-Y grid as mutual capacitance sensors; however, thecolumns and rows in such an arrangement may operate independently. Withself-capacitance, the capacitive load of a finger is measured on eachcolumn or row electrode by a current meter. This method produces astronger signal than mutual capacitance. However, the method is unableto accurately resolve more than one finger and thus results in“ghosting”, or misplaced location sensing.

Advances in the ability to manipulate 3D objects on a screen may proveespecially beneficial in medical imaging applications. The field ofmedical imaging includes a variety of imaging modalities including, butnot limited to, magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”), x-ray (“XR”),computed tomography (“CT”), ultrasound and positron emission tomography(“PET”). These imaging modalities may generate three-dimensional imagesof anatomic structures. Physicians, medical students and otherhealthcare professionals often manipulate these structures for analysisfrom various angles. In the case of 3D ultrasound, many practitionersuse joysticks connected to a terminal. Further, the use of a joystickmay require that the physician use a dedicated terminal. Thus,practitioners often manipulate images from a remote location eitherduring a procedure as part of a collaborative effort and/or as part of apost-procedure analysis.

Similarly, a need exists for engineers and other professionals toexamine mechanical structures from multiple angles and at variousphysical locations. A need also exists for artists, architects, interiordecorators, graphic designers and/or other designers to view andmanipulate 3D images of various products and designs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a method for manipulating a3D image using 2D gestures on a touchpad. The method detects amultiple-finger linear gesture on a touchpad, generates a signalindicative of the multiple-finger linear gesture and moves the 3D imagewithin the x-y plane in the direction of the multiple-finger lineargesture. In an embodiment of the invention, the number of fingers usedfor the multiple-finger linear gesture on the touchpad may be, forexample, two fingers.

More particularly, in an embodiment of the invention, a method formanipulating a 3D image is provided. The method detects a two-fingerlinear gesture on a touchpad. The touchpad may generate a signalindicative of the two-finger linear gesture and may display acorresponding movement of the 3D image on a screen.

In another embodiment of the invention, a method for manipulates a 3Dimage. The method detects a multiple-finger linear gesture on atouchpad. The method may rotate the 3D image in the direction of themultiple-finger linear gesture about an axis in the x-y planeperpendicular to the multiple-finger linear gesture.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, a method for manipulating a3D image is provided. The method detects a multiple-finger lineargesture on a touchpad. The touchpad may generate a signal indicative ofthe multiple-finger linear gesture. The touchpad may determine the speedof the multiple-finger linear gesture. Further, a touchscreen maydisplay the 3D image and may rotate the 3D image in the direction of themultiple-finger linear gesture about an axis in the x-y planeperpendicular to the multiple-finger linear gesture. The rotation of the3D image may be at a speed proportional to the speed of themultiple-finger linear gesture.

It is, therefore, an advantage of the present invention is to providefor multiple-finger, such as two-finger, for example, linear gesturedetection using mutual capacitance.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide for thenavigation of the 3D image in the direction of a one-finger gesture onthe touchpad and to transmit a signal indicating selection of the 3Dimage for manipulation.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide for therotation of the 3D image within the x-y plane in the direction of atwo-finger rotational gesture on the touchpad.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide rotation of the3D image within the x-y plane in the direction of a three-fingerrotational gesture on the touchpad.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide for a methodthat detects a two-finger gesture having a rotational component and atranslational component, rotates the 3D image in the direction of therotational component and affects the x-y position of the 3D image in thedirection of the translational component.

Another advantage of the present invention is to change the x-y positionof the 3D image in response to a two-finger linear gesture.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide for therotation of the 3D image in the direction of a two-finger rotationalgesture within the x-y plane wherein the 3D image continues to rotateafter the two-finger rotational gesture.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide for thetransmission a stop signal to halt the changing of the x-y position ofthe 3D image.

Another advantage of the present invention is to determine the speed ofthe two-finger linear gesture on the touchpad and to move the 3D imagein the direction of the two-finger linear gesture at a speedproportional to the speed of the two-finger linear gesture.

Another advantage of the present invention is to determine the speed ofthe two-finger linear gesture on the touchpad and to move the 3D imageafter the two-finger linear gesture for a time period proportional tothe speed of the two-finger linear gesture.

Another advantage of the present invention is to determine the speed ofa two-finger rotational gesture on the touchpad and move the 3D imageafter the two-finger rotational gesture for a time period proportionalto the speed of the two-finger rotational gesture.

Another advantage of the present invention is to detect amultiple-finger linear gesture on a mutual capacitance touchpad whereinthe multiple-finger linear gesture requires at least three fingers androtates the 3D image in the direction of the multiple-finger lineargesture about an axis in the x-y plane perpendicular to themultiple-finger linear gesture.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide for thenavigation of the 3D image in the direction of a one-finger gesture onthe touchpad and transmitting a signal indicating the selection of the3D image for manipulation.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide for therotation of the 3D image in response to the multiple-finger lineargesture.

Another advantage of the present invention is to detect amultiple-finger linear gesture on a touchpad, generate a signalindicative of the multiple-finger linear gesture, determine the speed ofthe multiple-finger linear gesture, and rotate the 3D image in thedirection of the multiple-finger gesture about an axis in the x-y planeperpendicular to the multiple-finger linear gesture at a speedproportional to the speed of the multiple-finger linear gesture.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide for therotation of the 3D image after the multiple-finger linear gesture for atime period proportional to the speed of the multiple-finger lineargesture.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide for thetransmission of a stop signal to halt rotation of the 3D image about thex-y plane.

Another advantage of the present invention is to detect themultiple-finger linear gesture using mutual capacitance.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention aredescribed in, and will be apparent from, the detailed description of thepresently preferred embodiments and from the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view of a two-finger linear gesture inthe x direction on a touchpad.

FIG. 1B illustrates a graphical view of the translation of the 3D imagein the x direction within the x-y plane on a screen corresponding to thetwo-finger linear gesture on a touchpad.

FIG. 1C illustrates a perspective view of a two-finger linear gesture inthe y direction on a touchpad.

FIG. 1D illustrates a graphical view of the translation of the 3D imagein the y direction within the x-y plane on a screen corresponding to thetwo-finger linear gesture on a touchpad.

FIG. 1E illustrates a perspective view of a two-finger pinch-in motionon a touchpad.

FIG. 1F illustrates a graphical view of the shrinking of the 3D image inthe z direction corresponding to the two-finger pinch-in motion on atouchpad.

FIG. 1G illustrates a perspective view of a two-finger pinch-out motionon a touchpad.

FIG. 1H illustrates a graphical view of the enlarging of the 3D image inthe z direction corresponding to the two-finger pinch-out motion on atouchpad.

FIG. 1I illustrates a perspective view of a two-finger rotating motionon a touchpad.

FIG. 1J illustrates a graphical view of the rotation of the 3D image ineither direction on the z axis on a screen corresponding to thetwo-finger rotating motion on a touchpad.

FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view of a three-finger rotationalgesture on a touchpad.

FIG. 2B illustrates a graphical view of the rotation of a 3D imagewithin the x-y plane on a screen corresponding to the three-fingerrotational gesture on a touchpad.

FIG. 3A illustrates a perspective view of a three-finger linear gesturein the y direction on a touchpad.

FIG. 3B illustrates a graphical view of the rotation of the 3D imageabout the x axis in the x-y plane perpendicular to the three-fingerlinear gesture in the y direction on a touchpad wherein the rotation ofthe 3D image is displayed on a screen.

FIG. 4A illustrates a perspective view of a three-finger linear gesturein the x direction on a touchpad.

FIG. 4B illustrates a graphical view of the rotation of the 3D imageabout the y axis in the x-y plane perpendicular to the three-fingerlinear gesture in the x direction on a touchpad wherein the rotation ofthe 3D image is displayed on a screen.

FIG. 5A illustrates a perspective view of a one-finger pointing motionon a touchpad.

FIG. 5B illustration a graphical view of an identification of 3D objecton a screen corresponding to the one-finger pointing motion on thetouchpad.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention may allow an artist, architect, interiordecorator, designer, engineer, physician and/or other professional touse a portable electronic device that enables manipulation of a 3D imageon a touchpad. The individual may examine the 3D image at any timeand/or at any location, such as, for example, at home or in anautomobile.

The present invention provides a method for manipulating a 3-D image inthe x, y and z directions through coordinated user finger gestures on atouchpad. The method detects one or more touches on the touchpad and/orone or more movements on the touchpad. A touch is a stationary placementof a human finger and/or other object upon the touchpad. As used in thisapplication including the claims, the term finger may refer to a humanfinger or any other object that may be used to contact a touchpad ortouchscreen, such as a stylus. A movement is any dragging, rotational orother motion of a finger or other object while in contact with thetouchpad. The method may, for example, detect two simultaneous touches,three simultaneous touches, four simultaneous touches or fivesimultaneous touches. Likewise, the method may detect two simultaneousmovements, three simultaneous movements, four simultaneous movements orfive simultaneous movements.

In an embodiment of the invention, the touchpad may be programmed withan ‘instinct library,’ defined as a predetermined set of instructionsregarding output panning and rotating information associated with agesture generated by the contact of one or more fingers to the touchpad.A user, programmer and/or other person and/or entity may decide upon thenumber of fingers to be used and/or associated with each gesture. Forexample, the ‘instinct library’ of the touchpad may be programmed torequire the simultaneous touching of three fingers to the touchpad toaccordingly pan an image displayed on a monitor, TV, and/or similarscreen. Likewise, a user and/or programmer may program and/or configurethe ‘instinct library’ to require the simultaneous touching of twofingers to the touchpad to, for example, rotate an object, and/or thesimultaneous touching of four fingers to the touchpad to rotate anobject. As discussed above, the user and/or programmer may qualifyand/or enter the relative pan and/or rotational information into the‘instinct library’ to set a number of fingers required to generateand/or facilitate a particular gesture.

Referring generally to FIG. 1A, the method set forth by the presentinvention may detect an amount of time of one or more touches and/or oneor more movements on the touchpad 100. The method may use an internalclock/timer that may be triggered by the detection of a touch/movementand turned off by the cessation of the touch/movement. Further, theduration of a touch may influence the effect a subsequent gesture on the3D image 160. Similarly, the duration of a gesture may affect the changein position/orientation of the 3D image 160 produced in response to thegesture. Also, the method detects a speed of one or more movements onthe touchpad 100. The speed may be calculated based on the duration of amovement and the total distance traversed by the movement on thetouchpad. Alternatively, the speed may be approximated based on the timeof a movement and the number of zones covered by a movement. The methodmay detect and/or calculate an acceleration corresponding to one or moremovements on the touchpad 100. The acceleration may be calculated basedon periodic measurements of speed over the course of a gesture.

The method uses a two-dimensional touchpad to manipulate athree-dimensional image. The method may be compatible with any devicehaving a touchpad. Accordingly, the method may use an electronic tabletwith a display screen that may be configured to be a touchpad. Also, themethod may use an electronic tablet having a touchpad separate from thedisplay screen. Further, the method may use a laptop computer having atouchpad. Alternatively, the method may use a stand-alone accessoryhaving a touchpad. Also, the method may use a device which may have anadditional object, such as a knob, capable of being manipulated by auser. The touchpad may be positioned atop or within a knob or otherobject. Still further, the method may apply a touchpad gesture to atouchpad wherein a microprocessor connected to the touchpad generates asignal indicative of the touchpad gestures in response to application ofthe touchpad gestures to the touchpad. Commonly assigned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/406,617 is hereby incorporated in its entiretyby reference into the present application.

In an embodiment, a finger or other object may contact the touchpad fora specified length of time, such as, for example, at least 0.1 seconds,to register a contact established with the touchpad 100. Alternatively,the finger or other object may be within a specified distance, such as,for example a maximum 2.5 mm, from the touchpad to register a contactestablished with the touchpad 100. The method may require that a givengesture moves along the touchpad at a specified speed, such as, forexample at least 1.5 mm/sec to produce the desired movement and/orrotation. Also, the 3D image 160 may be selected before the 3D image 160may be manipulated by way of a touch and/or a gesture event on thetouchpad. The touch and/or the gesture event may be separate from thetouch/gesture used to manipulate the 3D image.

A touchpad PC board and/or other microprocessor may be electricallyconnected to the touchpad 100. The touchpad gestures may be applied tothe touchpad 100 that may be provided as part of, for example, a knob. Amovement of the knob in combination with the touchpad gesture mayproduce an effect on the position/orientation of the 3D image 160. Forexample, a gesture on the touchpad 100 may initiate the translationand/or re-orientation of the 3D image 160, and use of the knob mayfine-tune the movement and/or re-orientation of the 3D image 160.Further, the touchpad gesture and the knob movement may be configured tobe substitutable so that the gesture and the knob movement may producethe same effect on the 3D image 160. Also, the knob movement may be usedto select the 3D image 160 for subsequent manipulation.

Further, the method may have the step of preventing rotation of atouchpad PC board when the knob rotates. For example, connection of thetouchpad PC board to a shaft clip connected to the actuator shaft mayprevent rotation of the touchpad PC board when the knob rotates. Thetouchpad 100 and/or the touchpad PC board may be electrically connectedto a display screen which displays the 3D image. Alternatively, neitherthe touchpad 100 nor the touchpad PC board may be electronicallyconnected to the display screen. For example, the touchpad PC board orother microprocessor associated with the touchpad 100 may communicatewith a microprocessor associated with the display screen through a wiredor wireless data connection.

FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B illustrate that a two-finger linear motion in theX-direction 30 that may be detected by mutual capacitance and may resultin a corresponding panning motion of the 3D image 160 along the X-axisin the X-direction 30 on a display screen 80 surrounded by a border 90.Similarly, FIGS. 1C and 1D illustrate a two-finger linear motion in theY-direction 50 that may pan the 3D image 160 along the Y-axis in theY-direction 50 on the display screen 80. As seen here, a two-fingerlinear panning motion may confer several advantages over a one-fingerlinear motion. For example, using two fingers instead of one finger topan an object may reduce movement of the object resulting from, forexample, inadvertent stray finger movement. The avoidance of inadvertentobject movement may be desirable in a medical setting where suchmovement may disrupt medical discussions, analysis and/or medicalprocedures. Moreover, the use of two fingers allows for simultaneousrotation and/or panning of an object. In example, by assigning the useof two fingers to translate the 3D image 160, a one-finger gesture maybe used to perform another movement such as navigation toward and/oraway from the 3D image 160.

Referring to FIGS. 1E and 1F, a two-finger pinch-in motion 60 isillustrated that may be detected by mutual capacitance where a firstfinger 10 may approach a second finger 20 on the touchpad 100. Thepinch-in motion 60 may shrink the 3D image 160 along the Z-axis.Likewise, a two-finger pinch-out motion in the Z direction as shown inFIGS. 1G and 1H may enlarge the 3D image 160 along the Z-axis. Changesin graphical properties such as detail, contrast or shadowing may beproduced with respect to the 3D image 160 to reflect zooming out orzooming in from the 3D image 160.

Referring generally to FIG. 1I and FIG. 1J, a two-finger rotating motion170 in the x-y plane on the touchpad 100 may be detected by mutualcapacitance and may rotate the 3D image 160 in the direction of movementand about the Z-axis. The rotation produced by a two-finger rotatingmotion 170 in the x-y plane is about the Z-axis that passes through thecenter of the 3D image 160. Alternatively, the rotation produced by thetwo-finger rotating motion in the x-y plane may be about a user selectedaxis on the x-z plane that may pass through a point between the pointsof contact of the first finger 10 and the second finger 20 on thetouchpad 100. The user selected axis may correspond to an analogous axison the display screen 80. The rotation motion 170 on the touchpad 100may rotate the 3D image 160 along the analogous axis on the screen 80.The point may be determined at the time of first contact of the twofingers on the touchpad or may be determined at the time of initiationof the rotating motion 170.

In an embodiment, the user selected axis about which the 3D image 160may rotate through a separate touch performed prior to the rotationalgesture. Further, the two-finger rotating motion 170 performed while thetwo fingers are together generally moving in a linear direction on thetouchpad 100 corresponding to the x-y plane on the screen 80 may resultin the simultaneous rotation and panning of the image 160. Theembodiment may accommodate both a translational component and arotational component.

Referring generally to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the first finger 10, thesecond finger 20 and the third finger 140 may be detected by mutualcapacitance and may form a three-finger rotational gesture 110 in thex-y plane on the touchpad 100 that may rotate the 3D image 160 in thedirection of a three-finger rotational gesture on the screen 80. Thethree-finger rotational gesture 110 in the x-y plane may be either inthe clockwise direction or the counter-clockwise direction to produce ananalogous rotation of the 3D image 160 in the direction of athree-finger rotational gesture on the screen 80.

Referring generally to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, a multiple-finger linearmotion 120 involving three or more fingers may be detected by mutualcapacitance and may rotate the 3D image 160 in the direction of thelinear motion and about an axis in the x-y plane. For instance, amultiple-finger linear motion 120 in the Y-direction may rotate the 3Dimage 160 about the X-axis. More specifically, a three-finger linearmotion in the Y-direction may rotate the 3D image 160 about the X-axis.Similarly, a four-finger linear motion in the Y-direction may rotate the3D image 160 about the X-axis. Also, a five-finger linear motion in theY-direction may rotate the 3D image 160 about the X-axis.

Referring generally to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, a multiple-finger linearmotion 150 involving three or more fingers in the X-direction may bedetected by mutual capacitance and may rotate the 3D image 160 about theY-axis. A three-finger linear motion in the X-direction may rotate the3D image 160 about the Y-axis. A four-finger linear motion in theY-direction may rotate the 3D image 160 about the X-axis. A five-fingerlinear motion in the Y-direction may rotate the 3D image 160 about theX-axis.

Referring generally to FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, amultiple-finger linear motion involving three or more fingers in anydirection within the x-y plane may be detected by mutual capacitance andmay rotate the 3D image 160 about an axis within the x-y planeperpendicular to the multiple-finger linear motion. A multiple-fingertouch or motion requires at least three or more fingers. A two-fingertouch or motion does not constitute a multiple-finger touch or motion.Further, a particular multiple-finger touch or movement may require aminimum four fingers or a minimum five fingers. A three-finger linearmotion in any direction within the x-y plane may rotate the 3D image 160about an axis within the x-y plane perpendicular to the three-fingerlinear motion. A four-finger linear motion may rotate the 3D image 160about the axis within the x-y plane perpendicular to the linear motion.A five-finger linear motion in the Y direction may rotate the axiswithin the x-y plane perpendicular to the linear motion.

The three fingers may contact the touchpad 100 at approximately the sametime to enable rotation about an axis in the x-y plane. The threefingers may contact the touchpad 100 within a specified amount of time,such as, for example 25 milliseconds of the first finger to contact thetouchpad 100. Two fingers may be located in contact with the touchpad100 at the same time, and the third finger may contact the touchpad toenable rotation about an axis in the x-y plane. The second finger andthe third finger may contact the touchpad after the first fingercontacted the touchpad 100 to enable rotation about an axis in the x-yplane.

Referring generally to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, the first finger 10 may bedetected by mutual capacitance and may be used to make a single-fingergesture 170 to navigate to and/or select the 3D image 160 on the screen80. The user may use the single-finger gesture 170 to navigate towardthe 3D image 160 and then may place a second finger on the touchpadwhile maintaining contact with the first finger to select the 3D image160 for subsequent manipulation. The 3D image 160 may be manipulatedwithout lifting the fingers. The 3D image 16C may optionally bemanipulated even if fingers are lifted after selection of the 3D image160. The 3D image 160 may be manipulated after being selected if thefingers required for manipulation re-establish contact with the touchpadwithin a predetermined amount of time.

Referring generally to all figures, the 3D image 160 may rotate and/orpan after the fingers are lifted from the touchpad 100. The movement ofthe image may gradually slow after the fingers are lifted from thetouchpad 100 and eventually may stop. The time required for the 3D image160 to stop may depend on the speed of the gesture setting the 3D imagein motion. The time required for the 3D image 160 to stop may depend onthe time of contact between the fingers and the 3D image 160 before thegesture setting the image in motion. The image may continue to rotateuntil a stop signal is received. The stop signal may be an additionaltouch by a finger or fingers on the touchpad. The stop signal may be asingle-finger touch on the 3D image 160. This stop signal may also be atwo-finger touch on the 3D image 160.

The method of the present invention provides a gesture on the touchpad100 to affect the orientation of the 3D image 160 in response to thegesture. Further, the 3D image 160 may be, in an embodiment, ananatomical structure representative of actual human anatomy.Accordingly, the method for diagnosing a human may allow a physician toexamine an anatomical structure in three dimensions while in the processof performing, for example, a medical procedure or a surgical procedure.An embodiment of the current invention may also set forth a method forcomputer aided drafting that generates the 3D image 160 in response toan input and subsequent detection of a gesture on a touchpad that maythus affect the position and/or orientation of the 3D image 160. As aresult, a design engineer may examine a structure in three dimensionsduring the process of designing the structure. Of course, many otherapplications of the present invention exist.

Various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodimentsdescribed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Suchchanges and modifications may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention and without diminishing its attendantadvantages. Therefore, such changes and modifications are intended to becovered by the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A method for manipulating a 3D image, the method comprisingthe steps of: detecting a multiple-finger linear gesture on a touchpad;generating a signal indicative of the multiple-finger linear gesture;determining a speed of the multiple-finger linear gesture on thetouchpad; and rotating the 3D image after the multiple-finger lineargesture for a time period proportional to the speed of themultiple-finger linear gesture; wherein said rotating comprises rotating3D the image around a first axis when the multiple-finger linear gestureincludes a first number of fingers, and rotating the 3D image around asecond axis orthogonal to the first axis when the multiple-finger lineargesture includes a second number of fingers different from the firstnumber of fingers.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and secondnumber of fingers is programmed in an instinct library associated withthe touchpad.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the multiple-fingerlinear gesture is detected by mutual capacitance.
 4. The method of claim1 further comprising the steps of: detecting a two-finger gesture havinga rotational component and a translational component; rotating the 3Dimage in a direction of the rotational component; and panning an x-yposition of the 3D image in a direction of the translational component.5. The method of claim 1, which includes altering an x-y position of the3D image pursuant to the multiple-finger linear gesture.
 6. The methodof claim 1 further comprising the step of: transmitting a stop signal tostop said rotation the 3D image about the first and second axes.
 7. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising the steps of: determining a speedof the multiple-finger linear gesture; and rotating the 3D image in thedirection of the multiple-finger linear gesture at a speed proportionalto the speed of the multiple-finger linear gesture.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first number of fingers is four and the secondnumber of fingers is five.
 9. A method for manipulating a 3D image, themethod comprising the steps of: detecting a multiple-finger lineargesture on a touchpad, said detecting including determining how manyfigures were used to make the multiple-finger linear gesture; if themultiple-finger linear gesture is a three-finger linear gesture,rotating the 3D image in the direction of the multiple-finger lineargesture about a first axis in the x-y plane perpendicular to themultiple-finger linear gesture; and if the multiple-finger lineargesture is not a three-finger linear gesture, rotating the 3D imageabout a different second axis orthogonal to said first axis responsiveto the multiple-finger linear gesture.
 10. The method of claim 9 furthercomprising, in response to a one-finger gesture, the steps of:navigating toward the 3D image in the direction of the one-fingergesture on the touchpad; and transmitting a signal indicating theselection of the 3D image for manipulation.
 11. The method of claim 9wherein the 3D image rotates after the multiple-finger linear gesture.12. A method for manipulating a 3D image, the method comprising thesteps of: detecting a multiple-finger linear gesture on a touchpad;generating a signal indicative of the multiple-finger linear gesture;determining the speed of the multiple-finger linear gesture on the touchpad; moving the 3D image a first distance within an x-y plane in thedirection the multiple-finger linear gesture; while moving the 3D imagein response to detecting the multiple-finger linear gesture, detecting arotation of a knob; and moving the 3D image a second distance within thex-y plane in the direction of the multiple finger linear gesture inresponse to said detecting of the rotation of the knob, wherein thesecond distance is less than the first distance.
 13. The method of claim12 further comprising the step of: transmitting a stop signal to haltrotation of the 3D image about the x-y plane.
 14. The method of claim12, which includes detecting the multiple-finger linear gesture usingmutual capacitance.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the touchpad ispositioned atop a knob.